FO4ACP Regional Learning Route starts aiming to strengthen the business associative capacities of farmers' organizations in the Caribbean

As part of the Farmers Organizations for African, Caribbean and Pacific (FO4ACP) project, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together PROCASUR corporation brought together more than a dozen leaders of rural associations and cooperatives from the Caribbean for a peer-to-peer exchange of experiences.

 In the opening session of the Regional Learning Route held on August, 12 in Bogota, the participants were able to learn more about the methodology of the Route and share their expectations and current challenges that their organizations face. Carlos Vanegas from the Procasur Corporation, started the activity explaining that the Learning Route is "a very functional methodology so that knowledge can be transferred and applied to their organizations based on good practices and examples that will be known in the field during these next few days".

 The representative of Procasur explained that these good practices will be exposed from various visits to five case studies to various successful productive experiences of agriculture in the municipalities of Belem de Umbria, Apía, Cota, Choachí.

"The commitment we expect from you is to set up spaces for dialogue, workshops, to integrate the various lessons learned during this week into the organization of natives of your countries," Vanegas said.

 For his part, Pedro Boareto, Coordinator of the FO4ACP Project on behalf of FAO, thanked all the organizations for giving themselves the opportunity to attend this experience, which shows "the commitment they have with respect to the program, as well as their will to learn and share practices strengthen the capacities of their organizations."

 "The FO4ACP program wants to connect what each of its organizations does at the local and national level, with what other organizations in the region do. The program allows to strengthen and develop the capacities to provide services, access markets, improve management within their own organizations. The Learning Route provides the opportunity to see how other organizations have faced the various challenges, and what innovative solutions they have found for the various obtacles," Boareto reflected.

 Juan Moreno, president of the Procasur Corporation, considered that there are three key ideas to take into account during the Route: "firstly that this is not a workshop, nor a seminar of specialists, we are going to work learning from people who have built organizations, who have been able to articulate with various markets and who have changed their quality and well-being."

 Althia Giles, representative of the Pomeroon Exporters and Producers Association in Guyana, considered that they face great challenges such as access to financing, and also to know innovative practices to improve production and competitiveness within their organizations.

 "We hope that being here, on this Learning Route, will give us the opportunity to have more information on how to creatively and effectively face the various problems that we face inside the organizations of which we are a part,” Giles reflected.

 During the week, the representatives from Grenada Network of Rural Woman (Grenada), Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers (St. Lucia), New Era Farmers Benevolent Society (Jamaica), Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (Jamaica), Golden Grove Farmer's Association  (Jamaica), The Jamaica Cocoa Farmer's Association, , Mocha Arcadia Multipurpose Agricultural Cooperative (Guyana), Gibraltar/Fyrish Farmer's Association (Guyana), Pomeron Exporters and Producers Association (Guyana),  Valley of Peace Lagoon Farmers Cooperative (Belize), Concepcion Vegetable Farmer's Association (Belize), Orange Walk Beekeepers Cooperative (Belize), Maya Green Grower Cooperative (Belize), will

visit the association of producers of lulo in Belen of Umbria, the association of producers of avocados la villa in the municipality of Apía, as well as hydroponics and precision agriculture experiences in the municipalities Cota and Choachí, in which they will have access to exchange experiences with Rural Champions and will receive technical assistance for the development of innovation plans, focusing on functional solutions at their level of associative and business development, which allows them to participate better in the various value chains.

 About the FO4ACP Program

 This initiative is part of the Farmers' Organizations Programme for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (FO4ACP), funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union in support of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). Its objective is to increase incomes and improve livelihoods, food and nutrition security and the security of small farmers and organized families in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries by strengthening regional, national and local farmers' organizations.